Kirkharle Hall
Kirkharle Hall | |
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Location in Northumberland | |
General information | |
Location | Northumberland, England, UK |
Coordinates | 55°08′10″N 1°58′48″W / 55.136°N 1.980°W |
OS grid | NZ013824 |
Kirkharle Hall was a country house at
History
Kirkharle name was first recorded, as Herle in 1177,[1] and derives either from the Old English "Herela-lea" which means "Herela's Grove" or from the Old English "herg-lea" which means "temple-grove" a place of worship for the pre-Christian Angles.[2] Other early forms included Kyrkeherle (c.1250), Kyrkherll (1346) and Kirkehirle (1428),[1] the "kirk" element denoting a "church."[2] The
Nearby stands a memorial stone erected in 1728 to replace an earlier memorial commemorating Robert Loraine who was killed by marauding Scots in 1483.[6]
Among the quaint epitaphs in the church upon departed Loraines is the following: Here lyes the Body of Richard Loraine, Esq., who was a proper handsome man of good sense and behaviour : he dy'd a Batcheler of an Appoplexy walking in a green field near London, October 26th, 1738, in the 38 Year of his Age.[3]
The surrounding parkland was designed in the 18th century by
The present owner has redeveloped the farm and its outbuildings to create Kirkharle Courtyard, a development incorporating historical, retail and craft centres.
References
- ^ a b The Place-names of Northumberland and Durham, Cambridge University Press, pp. 128
- ^ ISBN 0-946928-41-X. Page 37
- ^ a b Hugill, Robert (1931). Road Guide to Northumberland and The Border. Newcastle upon Tyne, England: Andrew Reid & Company, Limited. pp. 157–8.
- ^ The surnames of Scotland: their origin, meaning, and history, George Fraser Black, New York Public Library, 1946, P.344
- ^ Heritage Gateway: architectural description of Kirkharle farmhouse
- ^ Heritage Gateway: description of inscription on Kirkharle memorial stone
- ^ "Keys to the Past: Kirkharle Hall landscape park". Archived from the original on 22 February 2012. Retrieved 3 April 2009.